I'm hopeful of a few things:
First, I hope that Reed and Jackson log a ton of minutes guarding Smith (If not all the minutes). They both love getting a difficult assignment on D. Just another reason to love both of them. There's real potential that they are the best players' drafted in their round.
Second, I hope to see Chriss's head and heart in the game. Our regular season team needs a solid post presence on O. Chriss has all the tools to be that guy and be dominant at it. I'm not interested in seeing him shoot one 3 tonight. Yes, I know he can hit them, but we have guys that can do that. I want to see him embrace the Tim Duncan role of being a force in the paint with his low post prowess and kicking out to our shooters. Tim Duncan could hit three's too, but he knew it was his role to bang in the paint.
Third, I hope to see Bender get more and more confident with his role. He truly has Toni Kukoc type ability, but just needs to age into it. I don't want to see the guy just hit 3's. I want to see him grab the ball off the D glass and push the ball up the court hitting open teammates or finishing strong around the rim. I want to see him active on the O glass and getting cheap put backs. Every team needs a guy who will do all the little things to help you win. Most of those things don't have stats attached to them. I think Dragan has the goods to be that guy.
I can't believe that I'm actually enjoying watching the Summer League. I'm planning my whole day around it. The Suns are booming with potential and talent and have guys I can truly root for. I'm gonna enjoy the patient process of seeing these guys mature.
